social medium

In response to the socio-cultural impact of Internet connected devices, this research project seeks to create opportunities for real world, face to face interaction between two people by discouraging the use of mobile phones. I attempt to augment user behaviour in two social scenarios; when two individuals sit down to share a meal and when two individuals sit and play a board game. My theoretical framework is based on BJ Fogg’s Behavioural Model and his concept of Persuasive Design. The goal of this research is to create interventions through physical objects that are designed to limit certain user behaviours while also encouraging other types of behaviour. I create two objects, one: a dining table that invites the user to hide their phone before sharing a meal and two: a chess board that cannot be used until both players put their phones away. I analyze my findings by comparing the effectiveness of each design to inform future work.